Naira crisis: Banks shun CBN directive, collect old N1,000, N500

Some Deposit Money Banks on Saturday opened their branches to customers for the purpose of collecting old N500 and N1,000 notes for deposit into their accounts.

 

This was contrary to the claim by the Central Bank of Nigeria that it did not instruct the banks to continue to collect the old notes from depositors.

 

On Friday, The PUNCH reported that the CBN had ordered banks to start collecting the old N500 and N1,000 notes from members of the public and pegged the maximum amount they could collect from individuals at N500,000.

 

The CBN swiftly issued a counter statement signed by the Director, Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, saying it did not give such a directive.

 

The banking regulator stated, “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria has been drawn to some fake and unauthorised messages quoting the CBN as having authorised the Deposit Money Banks to collect the old N500 and N1,000 banknotes.

 

“For the avoidance of doubt, and in line with Mr President’s broadcast of February 16, 2023, the CBN has been directed to only reissue and re-circulate the old N200 banknotes and this is expected to circulate as legal tender for 60 days up to April 10, 2023.”

 

When one of our correspondents visited Access Bank in Oregun, Lagos, the branch was attending to customers who had succeeded in filling the required form from the CBN portal, and collecting the old N500 and N1,000 from them.

 

The CBN had opened a portal on its website and mandated all those willing to return their old notes to fill a form and generate a reference code.

 

An official at the Access Bank branch explained to Sunday PUNCH, “We are only collecting deposits of the old notes from those who have filled the form and generated the code. If you don’t have a code, you cannot enter because you will not be attended to. We have been open since 10am and will close by 2pm.”

 

When asked how many times a customer could come and deposit, he said, “You are required to bring all the deposits at once and it must not be more than N500,000.

 

“If it is more than N500,000, you have to take it to the CBN and we can collect it only once from you because the deposit will be linked to your BVN.”

 

At Zenith Bank on Isaac John Street, Ikeja GRA, customers also came to deposit their old N500 and N1,000 notes before the bank closed by 2pm.

 

A security guard said, “If you don’t have a reference code, you cannot enter.”

 

He explained how to generate the reference code saying, “You have to go to the CBN website to register on the portal. Some people don’t know how to do it, but they have been going to cybercafés to generate the code. That is when you can deposit and it must not be more than N500,000.”

 

The GTBank at Olowoira in the Ojodu area of the state was also attending to depositors when one of our correspondents visited on Saturday.

 

A security guard, who refused to disclose his identity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said, “We have closed already, but some people are still inside the banking hall. We closed at 1pm and only those that had the code were allowed in.

 

“Some people came but because they did not have the code, we did not allow them in because it is mandatory. Those who had the code before 1pm were allowed in and some of them are still inside now, but we have closed for today to those that are just coming.”

 

Some depositors seen outside, however, expressed disappointment over the confusing information by the CBN over the collection of the higher denominations.

 

A man told Sunday PUNCH, “I have N480,000 that I want to deposit but I heard yesterday (Friday) that the CBN said it did not direct the banks to collect the notes, so I stayed at home.

 

“Later when someone called me that he was able to deposit the old notes, I rushed to the bank but was told that they had closed for the day.

 

“This is unfair because the information did not circulate. People were just saying all sorts of things. It is not fair coming here now and I cannot even enter the bank.”

 

Another woman standing outside the bank, Florence Ogundeji, said, “I thought it was not true until I got to the bank. It was then that I had to go and look for how to generate the code and when I came back, they did not allow me in. I have been standing outside.”

 

At the Polaris Bank branch at Olowoira, the security guards said the collection of the old notes was fake news and the bank did not open to the public.

 

However, a young man who was standing in front of the bank and spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity said, “I heard that we can deposit our N500 and N1,000 notes and that is why I am here.

 

“I have N170,000 with me but they are telling me that they are not collecting it.”

 

When Sunday PUNCH visited the UBA at Ojodu, an official of the bank said, “People have been coming to deposit their old notes, but we could not attend to them today because even if they have their code, our bank does not have the pin to verify the code.

 

“It is true that they can deposit the old N500 and N1,000 notes, maybe if our bank is able to get the pin by Monday, we will begin to collect the notes.”

Void Buhari’s directive – Govs

 

Ten states have asked the Supreme Court to declare the directive of the President, Major Gen Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), reintroducing the old N200 notes as unconstitutional.

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The suit marked SC/CV/162/2023, was filed on Friday by their counsel, A.J. Owonikoko SAN.

 

This is after the apex court did not vacate the order that the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes were still legal tender.

 

The plaintiffs in the suit are Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara, Ekiti, Ondo, Katsina, Ogun, Cross River, Lagos and Sokoto states.

 

They stated that by varying the order of the Supreme Court, the President had caused an “embarrassing dilemma as to which directives and order should be complied with between the order of the Supreme Court and the counter-directive of the first defendant, which was issued later in time.”

 

In the motion on notice, the states are praying the court for an order setting aside the directive in the special media broadcast on Thursday by the President (the substantive defendant in the suit) for being an unconstitutional overreach and usurpation of the judicial power of this court and a matter constituting the subject matter of the pending suit herein; and in respect whereof there subsists an order of interim injunction, binding on all parties, inclusive of the President, who is a party through the named nominal defendant in person of the first defendant as the chief legal officer of the Federation.”

 

The plaintiffs referenced that the substantive suit, which commenced on February 8, was currently before the court with an interim injunction to the effect that the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes remained legal tender in Nigeria pending the determination of the motion on notice.

 

The plaintiffs further stated that the interim order of the Supreme Court was reaffirmed on February 15, 2023.

 

The motion on notice read in part, “Contrary to the order of this honourable court, the substantive first defendant through the President of the federation and its agent, the Central Bank of Nigeria, has repeatedly released statements that the old naira notes are no longer legal tender, hence resulting in misleading the general public on what the status quo to be complied with pendente lite should be.

 

“The first defendant decided to openly flout the orders of the honourable court on Thursday, February 16, 2023 when the President delivered a special and presidential media broadcast during which the President openly and publicly varied the order of the court by directing that all the old naira notes, excluding the old N200 were no longer legal tender and same would not be accepted except by the Central Bank of Nigeria at its branches or designated points.”

Adamu meets govs

 

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, will today (Sunday) meet with governors elected on the platform of the party in Abuja.

 

A top official of the party, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, revealed that the former governor of Nasarawa State would discuss the court cases over the naira redesign policy and plans for Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections with the governors.

 

It was gathered that Adamu and some members of the party’s National Working Committee were angry that the opposition to the new naira policy was coming from the ruling party’s governors.

 

The top party source said, “Adamu is angry that those who are in court against the Federal Government’s policy are governors produced by the party. It is a thing that has hardly happened before in the history of democracy in the country.

 

“Adamu is also worried that the governors are giving contrary directives to the residents of their states. You can imagine APC governors asking people of their states to continue spending money already outlawed by the President. That is a direct confrontation with the President and the political party he represents. There is no way the party will allow that to continue, especially as the elections are nearer.”

Rescind policy – Akeredolu

 

Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, called on the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to reverse his stance on the circulation of old naira notes in order to bring calm to the country.

 

Akeredolu, who faulted the declaration of the President that the old N1,000 and N500 notes were no longer legal tender while extending the validity of the old N200 note till April 10, said those who advised Buhari in that regard were mischievous.

 

The governor stated this in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Richard Olatunde, on Saturday. The statement was titled, ‘Mr President should halt this seamless drift’.

 

According to the Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum, there is a need for the President to rescind the controversial policy, as he said it was unpopular, fruitless and counter-productive, more so that there was a subsisting order of the Supreme Court on the matter and the crises it was causing across the country few days to the general elections.

 

The statement read in part, “The crisis engendered by the policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria to redesign some currency notes threatens to disrupt, not only the forthcoming general elections. The events of the past days, culminating in the intervention of the apex court in the land, and the increasing gale of violence sweeping through the country portend serious danger to the current democratic governance. Consequently, this period invites all patriots to speak out with a view to proffering practicable solutions and not project cheap partisan interests.

 

“I use this opportunity to appeal to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari, to play the role of a statesman at this crucial moment. It is apparent that the crises, which the current policy on currency swap has created, continue to spiral menacingly.

 

“There is incontrovertible evidence bordering on miscalculation, error of judgement and/or disinformation on the part of the policy makers, especially the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele, on the failed implementation of the policy, the effect of which compels the whole country to groan, immeasurably, at present.

 

“There is hardly anyone who contends with either the statutory functions of the Central Bank of Nigeria or the occupier of the office of its governor, one of which is the monetary policy. It is also not debatable that the President and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria is empowered, under our law, to exercise certain executive power. It can, however, not be the original intendment of the drafters of the relevant statutes that the implementation of any policy should occasion widespread hardship and pervasive agony in the land.

“The safety of the people is the supreme law. Any measure, purportedly designed to ameliorate their conditions, must not reduce the entire populace to a beggarly existence. There is pervasive discontent in the land. A policy, presented as currency swap, must not be construed by both the reasonable members and people of average intelligence in the society to convey the deplorable impression of contrived subterfuge manifest in the official confiscation of legitimate deposits of the people in banks as a countermeasure against electoral malfeasance, terrorism and banditry.

 

“Desirable as the policy appears to be, its implementation excites curiosity as regards the real motive of its drivers, especially at this time when the conduct of general elections is almost here. The mere knowledge that the N1000 and N500 notes represented 82% of the currency in circulation and that the N200 note, whose validity has been extended, by fiat, for another 60 days, represented seven percent, exposes the mendacious slant in the advice given to Mr President. This counsel clearly misrepresented, deliberately, the facts as they existed before the commencement of the implementation of the policy.

 

“The implementation of this policy has been woeful despite claims to the contrary. The suffering of the masses, occasioned by the non-availability of new notes to replace the old ones, equally decreed out of existence by presidential fiat in contravention of the CBN Act, 2007, could have been averted if the strategy of a gradual and systematic withdrawal of the old currency notes had been adopted. I make bold to assert that the unfolding events across the country show that the policy has failed significantly. It is, therefore, expected that the President will halt this needless drift into the abyss of chaos, more so, when the ruling of the highest court still subsists.”

 

Akeredolu added, “I call on the President to allow both the old and new notes to co-exist until such a time when normalcy returns to the country. It will be a fitting parting gift for the people of this country, especially the downtrodden, who feel the negative impact of the poorly implemented policy. While the reasons adduced for the policy appear legitimate, there can be no justification for the confiscation of the lawful earnings of Nigerians.

 

“The negative impact, which the mediocre and, I dare say, mischievous implementation of the policy by the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria is having on the poor people and small business owners defeats all the good programmes of the Federal Government designed to elevate as many people as possible out of the morass of poverty.

 

“There is no shame in rescinding a decision adjudged not only unpopular and counter-productive, but which also bears the insidious seeds of potential conflagration in the land, one of the ostensible reasons for this ill-conceived policy.”

Ore-Benin road blocked

 

The Federal Road Safety Corps on Saturday advised motorists and other road users plying the Ore-Benin Expressway in the Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State to find alternative routes as protesters had blocked the road again.

 

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the protesters locked down the expressway and made bonfires to disrupt the free flow of traffic.

 

NAN also reports that the youths, who began their protest on Friday on the road returned to the axis again on Saturday, grounding commercial activities and leaving motorists and other road users stranded.

 

The FRSC Unit Commander in Ore, Mr Sikiru Alonge, told NAN that the gridlock made it difficult to control the traffic for motorists and road users in the area.

 

He also urged motorists and other road users caught up in the gridlock to exercise patience, and advised others who had yet to get to the area to find alternative routes to continue their journeys.

 

Alonge called on the government to deploy security agencies in the area to join the FRSC in clearing the congestion.

 

He stated, “The Ore-Benin Expressway is blocked right because of protesters; those in the traffic congestion should exercise patience, but motorists and other road users who have yet to get to the area should find alternative routes to continue their journeys.

 

“I also implore authorities at the state and local government levels to deploy other security agencies to assist the FRSC personnel to control the traffic.

 

The Police Public Relations Officer for Ondo State, ASP Funmilayo Odunlami, told NAN on the telephone that police personnel had been drafted to the area to prevent the breakdown of law and order.

 

“We are warning the youth not to take the law into their own hands because we will not tolerate destruction of government property or the breakdown of law and order under any guise,” Odunlami said.

Ekiti monarchs counsel

 

The Chairman, Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers, Oba Ayodele Adejuwon, has charged the Federal Government and the CBN to expedite action on efforts to ensure the stable circulation of the currency to ease economic pains being experienced by the citizens.

 

Oba Adejuwon, who is the Onisan of Isan Ekiti, said the violence accompanying the naira scarcity had great implications, adding, “We are saddened by reported cases of protests, burning of institutions and shooting of angry Nigerians over naira scarcity. These are dangerous events that portend danger to the free conduct of the 2023 polls.”

 

The traditional ruler, in a statement on Saturday titled, ‘Naira scarcity: Ekiti Obas sue for peace, task INEC, security agencies on free, fair polls’, appealed to Nigerians, including residents of Ekiti State, to maintain peace and be law-abiding, adding that the current problem being faced by Nigerians would be tackled in due course.

 

The monarch said, “We appeal to the Federal Government to do the needful to prevent our worsening economic situation from further degeneration by making the currency available to Nigerians with immediate effect. Further delay could be dangerous.

 

“We appeal to Nigerians, particularly Ekiti State residents, as they groan under the heavy burden of naira notes’ scarcity, to be cautious.

 

“We know that this is not the best treatment that they deserve, but we must tread softly to prevent our situation from becoming more complicated and degenerated. Though the pain being inflicted on Nigerians due to naira note scarcity is becoming unbearable and excruciating, resorting to arson, killings, and violent protests won’t be a panacea for remedying the situation.”

 

The Ekiti monarchs also warned Nigerians, especially politicians, against bloodshed in the coming elections, and advised them to allow the electorate to freely exercise their franchise through one-man-one-vote democratic ethos.

 

They pleaded with the Independent National Electoral Commission and security agencies to be apolitical in the conduct of the polls.

‘Stop extorting citizens’

 

The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has appealed to Point of Service operators and fuel attendants in the state to desist from extorting residents due to the new naira scarcity.

 

The governor made the appeal on Saturday during his state of the nation address at the Lagos House in Marina.

 

Sanwo-Olu said, “This address is necessary in view of the ongoing situation in the country regarding the change of currency notes and the attendant hardships being faced by ordinary Lagosians.

 

“We have noticed with dismay the rampant incidents surrounding some of the players in the financial services value chain (PoS agents/operators); as well as petrol station attendants who have taken the current challenges to mean an opportunity to extort hard-working and law-abiding Lagosians with extortionate service charges on funds withdrawal and sale of Premium Motor Spirit.

 

“Let me appeal to those involved in such behavior to desist from such sharp practices. It is especially in difficult times like these that we all need to be our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers and do everything we can to contribute to lessening the hardships faced by our fellow Lagosians. This is not the period to sacrifice empathy, compassion, and humanity on the altar of profit-making.”

 

The governor also urged residents to resist those who wanted to use the hardship caused by the scarcity to incite violence.

 

“We know that there are unscrupulous persons who want to sow seeds of violence and discord by their very utterances and actions, all with a view to robbing you of the chance to cast your votes in the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections. Do not allow them to use you to achieve their evil intentions,” Sanwo-Olu added.

Police give warning

 

The Nigeria Police Force said on Saturday that it deemed it necessary to caution groups and individuals against divisive comments and utterances capable of heating up the polity and triggering crisis in the nation amidst the prevailing crises over the new naira policy.

 

The Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, gave the warning in a statement.

 

Adejobi said, “This call is highly imperative as the police perceive the reactions and utterances of certain groups and individuals as an attempt to heat up the polity and spontaneously instigate the populace against the government and its policies for their peculiar interests and gains.

 

“The NPF, therefore, charges the citizenry of Nigeria to remain calm and embrace peace as the Federal Government has given assurances that it is taking the bull by the horns to address the scarcity of naira and fuel, and restore normalcy in all sectors.

 

“Similarly, the Nigerian populace is hereby urged to desist from any act of violence, hooliganism and vandalism that may jeopardise the ongoing electoral process, which is significant and critical in the transitional advancement of democracy in Nigeria.

 

“Meanwhile, the NPF would like to assure the general public that it is working in concert with defence, security, and intelligence agencies to provide a peaceful environment for all citizens to conduct their socio-economic activities.”

MURIC counsels Buhari

 

The Muslim Rights Concern also appealed to the President to intervene in the Central naira crisis rocking the country.

 

The Director, MURIC, Prof Ishaq Akintola, made the appeal in a statement on Saturday in Lagos.

 

Akintola also urged the President to abide by the pronouncement of the Supreme Court on the naira swap.

 

He stated, “Millions of Nigerians have been going through excruciating pain, hunger and starvation since the Nigerian fiscal crisis began.

 

“Movement from one place to another has been extremely difficult and outright impossible in some cases. Patients in both public and private hospitals are finding it difficult to pay for their treatment.

 

“Parents and students suffer psychological trauma due to difficulties in money transfers. The poor masses are the worst for it.

 

“Thousands of Nigerians are, therefore, forced to go without food. Transporters have refused to take the old notes and commuters are stranded.”

 

Akintola called on the Presidency to caution the CBN without further delay.

 

He added, “It is obvious that this institution has failed to effectively distribute the new notes as well as monitor its disbursement to members of the public.

 

“Apart from this, Mr President must find a way of abiding by the decision of the Supreme Court, which earlier ruled that the old and new currencies should run parri passu.

 

“Notwithstanding these inconveniences, we appeal to Nigerians to bear with patience and fortitude.

 

“This cup will pass. Any resort to violence will only cause more harm to the poor masses and struggling businessmen and women.”

 

He called on religious leaders to intensify prayers for the nation.

(Punch)